


A Slippery Slope

by AlexBarton



Series: Adventures in Karamore: The Cardinal Locks [7]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types, Karamore - Fandom
Genre: Karamore, M/M, Temporary Character Death, divine intervention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:55:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27382282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexBarton/pseuds/AlexBarton
Summary: An encounter in the forest leaves Dorian questioning himself and his magic. It works out, for now.Karamore was created by the amazingly talented CaptainMorgan.Based on our D&D escapades.
Relationships: Dorian Pappas/Cassidy Conley
Series: Adventures in Karamore: The Cardinal Locks [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1488608





	A Slippery Slope

They leave Eldre’Thalas at midday, eager to cover as much ground as possible before nightfall in the hopes of evading the Gloom that haunts the forest. 

They’ve been riding for several hours when Dorian notices the insidious creeping of dark mist that had been there all along. It’s unsettling to realise that the mist has been there for some time, and that means they’re being followed. 

He sees the familiar dark shape of the Gloom’s nucleus circling them out of the corner of his eye, and he opens his mouth to quietly alert the others of the matter when all the horses suddenly stop simultaneously.

The mist coalesces into the skeletal face and rushes towards them. From there, it’s all a blur. The thing can’t be hurt by normal weapons, and it vaporizes and reappears around them constantly. Elijah goes to cast some form of holy light at the creature, but it disappears at the last minute and the radiant strike hits Dorian instead.

The pain courses through his body, leaving him convulsing on the forest floor.

A brief thought of, “ _Is this what evil creatures feel like? Am I dark enough for this to affect me?_ ” flicks through his mind before the pain blessedly leaves, and he gasps for air.

He doesn’t have much time though because suddenly the Gloom is all around him, wrapping him in darkness. He can’t hear anything except his own loud breathing, can barely see the flashes of light of his friends attacking the creature. Finally, a beam of light cuts through the creature, and it dissipates, leaving Dorian on his hands and knees, coughing up blood. He wipes moisture from his eyes, and his hand comes back bloody. Across the clearing, he can see the look of horror on Cassidy’s face when he catches sight of Dorian.

But the fight is still going. 

With the Gloom’s focus elsewhere, Dorian takes a minute to read the magical energy and try to figure out the thing’s weaknesses, if it has any. The amount of Necromantic energy the creature is putting off causes Dorian to stagger backwards a few steps, but there’s also something unfamiliar about it that he can’t quite place. Regardless, he stands and lobs a _Chromatic Orb_ towards the centre of the mist where the skeletal face is, and as it hits, it releases a powerful _boom_ of thunderous energy.

The Gloom reverts its attention back to Dorian, but it doesn’t move - at least, not that Dorian can see. He readies a _Fire Bolt_ in his hand and casts; before the flame reaches the creature, Dorian already knows that his throw is perfect. 

And then the creature shifts, leaving the fire to wrap across Cassidy’s chest.

The paladin falls to one knee, hand pressed to his now-scorched breastplate. The look of betrayal on his face crushes Dorian, squeezing the air from his lungs. 

Dorian pauses for a moment, trying to decide what to do. He wants to heal his boyfriend for selfish reasons, to heal the damage he’s inflicted; but he’s also realistic, Cassidy has the best chance at defeating the Gloom. With a sigh, he lifts his hand with his palm facing him, then moves it towards Cassidy, transferring some of his own life force to the paladin. He expects the rush of exhaustion the spell brings, but when he looks back at Cassidy, the knight doesn’t look any better.

There’s not much time to puzzle over the fact, because the Gloom does _something_ , and both Cassidy and Kis fall over unconscious.

Fear grips Dorian, the chill creeping through him. He feels a wash of healing on his skin and he nods his thanks to Elijah. The cleric doesn’t respond, and Dorian realises that he too has fallen unconscious. It’s down to him and Kaide, and the thought does nothing to dispel the tendrils of fear worming through him. Trying to keep the Gloom’s attention off Dorian, Kaide attacks the mist futilely, and it retaliates by knocking her unconscious as well.

Dorian stands alone, surrounded by the bodies of his friends.

Across the clearing, the skeletal face turns to him and grins. It laughs, and Dorian hears voices in the mist wrapping around him.

_Useless. Weak. Worthless._

Nothing he hasn’t thought about himself before. And isn’t it true? He shouldn’t be the last one standing.

The Gloom opens its mouth and laughs. “Bajsavi sends his regards.”

“ _NO_!” is the only thing Dorian has time to think before the Gloom rushes him, and Dorian collapses.

* * *

Everything hurts and the first thing Dorian notices is that it’s dark. Eventually he realises that the darkness is because his eyes are closed.

He wrenches them open, and notices that he is in the chapel they had spent the night in when they had first arrived in Delar Shan’Thalas - a full day’s ride from where they had fought the Gloom. He hears the rest of his companions waking, and he forces himself upright after some struggling. Elijah is next to him, and he offers the cleric his hand to help him up.

After everyone wakes and Elijah checks them over, they look out into the forest. All their belongings are still with them, but their horses are gone. 

Cassidy breaks the silence. “Alright let's get moving. Double time, we need to make it to the bridge before nightfall.”

Kis smirks. “Why, are you afraid that it’ll come back?”

“Maybe.”

And with that, Cassidy made his way out of the abandoned chapel. He walked with Elijah for a bit, the two discussing religion and dedicating their lives to a god from what Dorian could hear. He catches the name of the god of judgement as Cassidy’s patron, and he’s a bit surprised that the paladin would follow a death god, but he’s too miserable to join the conversation.

Dorian walks in the middle of the group, lost in thought about how useless he had been in the fight against the Gloom, the guilt of hitting Cassidy eating at him. He only tunes back into the general conversation when he hears Cassidy mention that the Gloom reminded him of reports from Aron’s Fort and when the monsters appeared from the ground and attacked Myer.

The paladin turns around, facing the group and walking backwards.

“Oh yeah, uh, I had a message to tell you. Um. You’re not alone.”

Dorian furrows his brow. “And what exactly does that mean?”

Cassidy shrugs. “I don’t know, I was just told to tell you that.”

Kis joins Dorian in tearing apart the message. “We’re not alone. Really? I had no idea. Here I was, thinking you all were hallucinations.”

Cassidy grins and holds his hands up. “I’m just the messenger.”

The group falls into its usual pattern of bickering, but Dorian falls silent again.

They cover the ground to the bridge at Cultist King’s Crossing in good time, reaching it just before nightfall. At Cassidy’s insistence, they continue on through the night, reaching the edge of the Searing Wastes as the sun rises. They rest for a short while, then keep on to Vollun, arriving around midday.

Dorian spares no thought for anyone else and makes his way immediately to Yubalos’ hut. She seems pleased to see them, or at least pleased that they’ve brought back the Edrasil. Once she turns the plant into a paste and places it in Sorrice’s mouth, she turns to them and shoos them out of her home, saying that they need a bath.

They all walk over to Ruzabi’s bathhouse, and Dorian requests his own room. He doesn’t look at Cassidy, hasn’t really since they left the chapel in Delar Shan’Thalas, and so he misses the way the paladin’s face falls.

In his room, he quickly disrobes and removes his jewelry, but the Ring of Unlimited Spells remains fixed to his finger. Detached, he mentally shrugs and resolves to ask Kaspar about it and the letter in Elvish when they make it back to Myer. Dorian bathes quickly, still covered in blood from the fight, and then makes his way down to the market. He’s exhausted, but he can’t sleep yet, fearing what his dreams will bring. He buys a braided leather and copper bracelet, and then wanders the city until sundown. 

He ends up at Yubalos’ door again.

Kaide is leaving as he enters, and the sage does not look entirely pleased to see him.

“Must I be visited by every member of your party?” she says in exasperation, “What do you want?”

Dorian gestures to the still sleeping dragonborn. “I just came to check on Sorrice.”

She studies him for a moment, then smiles. “I don’t think Sorrice has ever had a friend before.”

Dorian scowls in return. “We are not friends. He has made that abundantly clear.”

Yubalos only hums in her amusement. Dorian watches her for a moment.

“Can I ask a question?”

She fixes him with a piercing stare. “I suppose.”

Dorian opens his mouth, then closes it, trying to figure out what exactly to say. “I tried healing Cassidy but it didn’t work.”

Yubalos raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t comment on the fact that Dorian hadn’t actually asked a question. “Darker magic like that will not work on him. It is in the nature of the oaths that he has taken to protect him from such things.”

Dorian is silent and looks down at his feet, but looks back up when she continues.

“You should be careful not to meddle with such things. You could do far worse than kill him.”

“I- what do you mean?”

She turns away, busying herself with something. “You could bring him back wrong, as a shade or a ghoul. Darker magic is not something to get involved in, regardless of intentions.”

Dorian scowls again. “You’re not the first person to tell me that.”

“Then perhaps you should listen, child. More than two people saying the same thing is not a coincidence.”

She turns around and hands Dorian a small packet of something. “Here.”

He takes it, bewildered. “Thank you? What, um, what is it?”

“Tea.”

“Oh, uh, what does it do?”

She blinks at him, as if she can’t quite believe how dense he is. “It’s just tea.”

“Is it magic tea?”

“No. Just tea.”

Dorian looks at it. “Oh well, ah, thank you.”

She nods and dismisses him with a wave of her hand. “Go sleep. Ket’Ateph says hello as well.”

The wizard brightens at the mention of the familiar. “Oh. Well, tell him I say hello too, and that he’s got mail whenever Sorrice wakes up.”

“He’s playing with Iamzee right now, but I will be sure to pass your greeting along. Now, go.”

Dorian steps out of the hut, turns to make his way back to the bathhouse, and runs into Kis. She’s standing in the middle of the platform, hiding in plain sight, using the shadows to remain unnoticed. “Ah, hello Kis.”

“I told you not to hurt him.”

“I didn’t mean to,” he whispers miserably.

“And I told you that your intentions didn’t matter because your magic is dangerous.”

Dorian looks away, the numb feeling in his chest rising to his throat, choking the words in his mouth. He clears his throat. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t think we’ll be together after what happened. I _hurt_ him and I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t want to be with me.”

Her face softens slightly. “Give him some credit. He’ll forgive you.”

He chuckles mirthlessly. “Maybe, but I’m having difficulty forgiving myself.”

“Go get some sleep Dorian.”

He nods and makes his way through the city, back to his room. He is asleep as soon as his head touches the pillow. He wakes with the sun, feeling marginally refreshed and slips out of the bathhouse, still avoiding Cassidy, who he knows rises early.

After checking in with Yubalos, who says that Sorrice is stabilized and should wake within a few days, he takes the scenic route through the city to the market. It’s nearing midday when he walks through the bathhouse doors again. Cassidy is pacing in the main foyer, and he lights up when he catches sight of Dorian.

“Hey!”

Dorian freezes as the paladin walks over to him, mind blank, dread paralyzing him. 

“I missed you.”

“You just saw me yesterday,” the wizard replies, confused at the direction the conversation was going.

Cassidy looks bashful. “Well I still missed you.”

Dorian looks away. “I ah. I’m sorry for hitting you, back in the forest.”

Cassidy takes his hand, and when Dorian looks back, he sees the paladin grinning.

“Not to burst your bubble or anything, but uh, I’ve taken worse.”

The knot in Dorian’s chest loosens slightly, but he replies, “That’s not as comforting as you might think.”

“Well. How are you going to make it up to me?”

Dorian decides to take a chance. “I can- I could kiss it better?”

It appears to be the right answer, if Cassidy’s grin is anything to go by. “That’s a lot of kisses.”

They hear a retching noise and turn to see Kis on the stairs, making fake gagging motions. “If you two are going to be disgusting, I’m going back upstairs.”

She turns to go, and Cassidy takes a step forward, “Hey, uh-uh, no. We need to go.”

Dorian uses the distraction to plant a kiss on Cassidy’s cheek, then darts off up the stairs.

“Dorian!” he can hear Cassidy’s exasperated cry behind him.

“I have to get my things!” he calls back down.

Finally, they are ready to leave. 

As they make their way out into the desert, Cassidy rides next to Dorian. A small ember of hope burns in Dorian’s chest. Maybe, just maybe, this can work out.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want more info on Karamore, go check out our campaign Tumblr:  
> karamore-aesthetic.tumblr.com


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